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Indicators · Governance

Electoral democracy index

How far rulers are chosen in clean, competitive elections with universal suffrage, and citizens can organise and speak freely, from 0 (not at all) to 100 (fully). V-Dem's polyarchy index, shown on a 0 to 100 scale.

Why it matters

Signals how contestable power is, and so how likely a change of government, and of policy, is through the ballot box.

Read with care

Built from expert assessments with a measurement model; small year-to-year moves are within the margin of error.

Source

V-Dem

score (0 to 100). 54 African countries, 1960 to 2025.

Electoral democracy: highest in Seychelles, lowest in Eswatini

Electoral democracy index, score (0 to 100). Latest year available, 2025. 16 of 16 countries have data.

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Loading map…
Source: V-Dem· Get the data (Professional)·dotzedw Insights Centre

Ranked: electoral democracyiWhy it mattersSignals how contestable power is, and so how likely a change of government, and of policy, is through the ballot box.

Click a country to highlight it.

020406080Seychelles76South Africa74Mauritius74Botswana67Lesotho66Namibia63Malawi56Zambia50Tanzania37Madagascar36Angola34DRC31Comoros29Mozambique28Zimbabwe27Eswatini13median 43
dotzedw Insights Centre
How spread out SADC is
Median 43Lowest: Eswatini 13Highest: Seychelles 76

Over time

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Electoral democracy index against income per person

Each bubble is a SADC country, sized by population. Dashed lines mark the SADC medians. Countries far from the pattern are worth a closer look.

020406080$1,000$3,000$10kGDP per person, US$ (log scale)Electoral democracyDRCTanzaniaSouth AfricaAngolaMozambiqueMadagascarMalawiZambia
Source: V-Dem, World Bank·dotzedw Insights Centre

Table

The same figures as the map, for screen readers and copying.
RankCountryValueYearFive-year changeGradeDetails
1Seychelles762025up 9 since 2020C
2South Africa742025up 2 since 2020C
3Mauritius742025up 19 since 2020C
4Botswana672025up 8 since 2020C
5Lesotho662025up 3 since 2020C
6Namibia632025little changed since 2020C
7Malawi562025up 2 since 2020C
8Zambia502025up 14 since 2020C
9Tanzania372025down 2 since 2020C
10Madagascar362025down 13 since 2020C
11Angola342025little changed since 2020C
12DRC312025down 4 since 2020C
13Comoros292025up 1 since 2020C
14Mozambique282025down 9 since 2020C
15Zimbabwe272025down 3 since 2020C
16Eswatini132025little changed since 2020C